Are you happy with where you are in life, or do you typically strive for the next level? Some people have an innate desire to succeed–to improve their running time or to earn a promotion at work—that pushes them toward constant improvement.

Your desire to succeed comes from numerous sources, both genetic and environmental. If you're interested in whether you have a genetic component that fuels a yearning to achieve, AncestryDNA^® + Traits can help you find out.

Why Do People Desire to Succeed?

Everyone has their own personal definition and vision for success, so their motivations and goals naturally vary. Some may feel compelled to strive for success across multiple aspects of their life in order to feel an overall sense of accomplishment. Others may be motivated to reach personal goals in particular areas of their life, like athletics, business, or school.

Generally, people who are motivated by meaningful goals are more likely to feel satisfied by their achievements. This is because accomplishing goals sets the brain up for a positive reinforcement cycle which is fed in part by the “feel good” hormone of dopamine.

In psychologist Abraham Maslow’s initial Hierarchy of Needs, people are motivated by certain physical and psychological needs to achieve fulfilment. Presented on a pyramid, the tiers reveal needs of various kinds with self-actualisation at the top. Self-actualisation encompasses the full use of your abilities and potential. One might say that the desire to succeed comes from the desire to achieve the fullest growth a person is capable of.

Being motivated to succeed can have many benefits for you. It can drive high performance across a range of activities—sport, academics, and in the workplace. Likewise, in your personal life it can help you strengthen relationships by facing problems head-on.

Success strivers may find that they have a combination of complementary personality traits, such as:

• Persistence
• A tendency to set goals
• Strong leadership skills
• Determination
• Competitiveness

The trait of competitiveness can look similar to the desire to succeed, but the difference lies in the source of motivation. Being competitive is driven by external factors—trying to outdo others in some way. A desire to succeed, on the other hand, comes from within—it’s driven by a sense of personal achievement.

Genetics and Striving for Success

In the interest of determining if there are genetic influences on the desire to succeed in life, the Ancestry^® science team asked over 237,000 people, "How strongly do you desire to succeed?" By comparing the respondents' answers to their genetic profiles, the scientists calculated a polygenic risk score—a tool that helps determine how likely a trait is to be inherited genetically.

Based on their findings, Ancestry scientists determined that genetics affect the desire to succeed in a relatively small way, with environmental factors weighing much more heavily on this trait. Over 470 genetic markers are connected to the desire to succeed, with a heritability of at least 5%.

What Else Does Science Say About the Desire to Succeed?

Scientific research suggests a small link between a desire for success and genetics, while environmental factors, such as economic status, heavily influence it. In fact, one study from the United Kingdom found that a child’s socioeconomic status was a much better predictor of their lifetime educational attainment than any genetic information.

Parental influence and upbringing play a major role in a person's desire for success. One international study followed over 37,000 children ages 11-13 from 26 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America to determine how family connection influenced their level of flourishing. The study considered how the participants self-reported their own sense of:

• Self-acceptance
• Purpose in life
• How they related to others
• Personal growth
• Environmental mastery
• Autonomy

While any of those factors can help influence an individual's desire to succeed, according to the study, having a greater sense of family connection outweighed them all. The importance of family influence even mitigated negative outcomes and likely contributed to flourishing, even after accounting for covariates such as food and resources.

Interesting Insights About the Desire to Succeed

While parental expectations in childhood can shape a person's desire and achievement of success, especially academically, those parental hopes and desires can go too far. When parents expect too much out of their children, based on their child's capabilities, they may do more harm than good. High parental expectations can lead to academic burnout or poor mental health outcomes.

However, children and adults with grit, a term coined by Angela Duckworth to refer to those willing to persist even in the face of failure, tend to be more successful. People with grit have the tenacity to work hard and relentlessly pursue their goals, which is necessary for those with the desire to succeed.

Ready to find out how much of your desire to succeed and other performance traits might be influenced by genetics? With AncestryDNA^® + Traits, you can find out how your genetic markers stack up to others who report being driven to succeed. If you've already taken a test, your results can be viewed with an Ancestry^® membership.

 

References

Bromberg-Martin, Ethan S., et al. "Dopamine in motivational control: rewarding, aversive, and alerting." Neuron. December 9, 2010. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2010.11.022.

Cherry, Kendra. "Intrinsic Motivation: How Internal Rewards Drive Behavior." Verywell Mind. May 3, 2023. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-intrinsic-motivation-2795385

"Genes and family are biggest predictor of academic success." ScienceDaily. December 18, 2019. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/12/191218153459.htm.

Liu, Meimei, et al. "The Effect of Educational Expectations on Children's Cognition and Depression." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. October 28, 2022. doi:10.3390/ijerph192114070.

"Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs." University of Central Florida. Accessed June 12, 2024. https://pressbooks.online.ucf.edu/lumenpsychology/chapter/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs/.

Weir, Kirsten. "The Gritty Truth." American Psychological Association. January 28, 2020. https://www.apa.org/news/apa/2020/gritty-truth.

Whitaker, Robert C., Tracy Dearth-Wesley, et al. "Family Connection and Flourishing Among Adolescents in 26 Countries." Pediatrics. May 16, 2022. https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/149/6/e2021055263/188014/Family-Connection-and-Flourishing-Among.